The exhilarating trailer for Shane Meadows’ three-part series The Gallows Pole drops today, starring Michael Socha (This Is England, Papillon) and Sophie McShera (Cinderella, Downton Abbey). The series will premiere on 31 May on BBC Two, with all episodes available immediately on BBC iPlayer from the same date.
Based on the book by Benjamin Myers, Shane Meadows fictionalises the remarkable true story of the rise of David Hartley and the Cragg Vale Coiners. Set in the moorland hills of 18th Century Yorkshire, the drama follows the enigmatic David Hartley played by Michael Socha as he assembles a gang of weavers and land-workers to embark upon a revolutionary criminal enterprise that will capsize the economy and become the biggest fraud in British history.
Also starring in The Gallows Pole are Sophie McShera as Grace Hartley, Thomas Turgoose (This Is England, Looted) as William Hartley, Yusra Warsama (Castle Rock) as Bethsheba, Anthony Welsh (Master Of None, The Flatshare) as Abe Oldfield, Samuel Edward-Cook (Peaky Blinders, Better) as Isaac Hartley, Joe Sproulle (The A Word) as Joe, and Adam Fogerty (Legend, Snatch) as James Broadbent, Nicole Barber-Lane (Hollyoaks) as Susie, Fine Time Fontayne (Peterloo) as Joseph Broadbent, with Ralph Ineson (Peaky Blinders) as The Clothier.
The Gallows Pole also sees the screen debuts of an ensemble of first-time actors, including Stevie Binns as Mand, Jennifer Reid as Barb, Soraya Jane Nabipour as Darya Hartley, Olivia Pentelow as Hannah, Charlotte Ockelton as Gwen Hartley and Dave Perkins as Tom Hartley.
The Gallows Pole is produced by Element Pictures, a Fremantle company, in association with Big Arty for the BBC in association with A24. Nickie Sault, a long-time collaborator of Shane Meadows is producer. Executive producers for Element Pictures are Ed Guiney, Andrew Lowe, Rachel Dargavel, Emma Norton, with Jo McClellan for the BBC. International sales are handled by A24.
SJP / TheGallowsPole@premiercomms.com